There is an article by Gary Fromer, SVP, SAP Managed Services, SAP Americas.Below are some excerpts from the same:

The SAP Managed Services organization delivers application outsourcing services to over 400 SAP customers worldwide. We've learned many lessons from our experiences with these customers; I would like to share that experience through a handful of outsourcing dos and don'ts. These guidelines apply to customers who are embarking on new outsourcing projects, as well as those already executing an outsourcing plan.

The Do's:

1. Clearly define your IT and business objectives before you begin

2. Maintain control of your SAP systems, including strategic decision making and a key user network

3. Take advantage of an integrated offsite and offshore strategy, as well as the economic and delivery efficiencies such a strategy can provide

4. Realize the benefits of shared resources

The Donts:

1. Don't operate and support your SAP system alone if you don't have the in-house resources and expertise to do so

2. Don't let your SAP operations and support depend on only a few individuals

3. Don't expect to outsource your responsibilities

4. Don't strand yourself without top-level SAP expertise when tackling top-level issues

Source: 1

Tags: managed+service - sap - outsource

Prashanth Rai